One Piece: Wind of Change
by CelestialWolf66
Summary: Born and raised in the East Blue, Aurora Nightwing dreams of writing the best story in the world all while aiming to be a Yonko. Inspired by Shanks when he visited her island, Aurora wishes to go out to sea, and when a certain rubber boy shows up, that dream is slowly becoming a reality.


In the East Blue, there is an island of legend called Dragon Island. It's called the Island of Legend because of the legend that during ancient times, dragons resided on the island and protected those who lived there. Over time, the dragons have gone extinct and became a legend to the world; however, that tale is no legend on Dragon Island. Statues were erected in honor of those dragons: the 5 fire dragons, 5 earth dragons, 5 water dragons, 3 light dragons, 3 shadow dragons, and 1 wind dragon.

There is an ancient tradition within the village, one that takes place when a child turns 5 years of age. This ritual determines each person's element (fire, earth, water, light, shadow, or wind), designated spirit dragon (if you have the fire element, you would get a spirit fire dragon), and grants them that of Dragon Instincts. Once the ritual is complete, the person gets a tattoo of the elemental symbol somewhere on their body. The only village located on Dragon Island, the Village of Dragons, practices this ritual as a part of tradition.

And right now, a child having turned 5, is about to go through that ancient tradition. 

*Aurora's POV*

Today is my 5th birthday and I currently have my mother helping me get ready for the ritual. To be frank, I'm both nervous and excited, I mean, you're talking about finally finding out your element, your spirit dragon, and get your elemental tattoo, who wouldn't be? And because of my nervousness, I can't help but fidget. "Aurora, stop fidgeting!" my mother exclaims, laughing, I giggle, "Sorry, I can't help it!". She finished pinning my hair back and I turned around to see her smiling at me, "You look beautiful." she told me with pride in her voice, smiling. I smiled back but let out a squeal as mom grabbed me and proceeded to rub her cheek against mine. I burst into laughter, "Mommy, stop!" she just giggled in response and kept doing it. A knock on the door, however, stopped out actions and mom put me down. "That's probably Elder at the door," she said, turning to me, "you ready?" I nodded, "Yup!" Getting up from her knees and grabbing my hand, walked to the door.

Opening it, Elder stood on the front step. "Hello, Glacia." My mother slightly bowed in greeting, "Hello, Elder." He turned to me and smiled, "You ready, Aurora? Today's a big day." I bowed slightly and responded, "Yes, sir. Ready as I'l ever be." He let out a bellowing laugh, making me smile a bit. "Well then, lets go see what our trouble maker is going to be, shall we?" he said kindly and mom and I both nodded and followed Elder to the village square, the sky darkening into twilight. Along the way, I spotted my friend, Naomi, with the other villagers standing by the runes inscribed in a circle in the stone of the square, which we in the village call the Dragon Circle. She smiled at me when our eyes met and made what little nervousness I had go away. Naomi was 3 years older than I, being 8 years old, and had already gone through the ritual. Her element, fire and her spirit dragon Solara, contrast her appearance, which I constantly joke to her about. Naomi has long dark blue hair, usually in a braid, and often wore a grey long skirt with black hemming. Her top is a quarter sleeve length, blue shirt.

I smiled back and turned my attention forward as we stopped walking, noticing we have approached the Dragon Circle. Elder stood atop a pedestal in front of numerous huge dragon statues, that overlook the town, and addressed the crowd, "People of the Village of Dragons, today is a special day. Today, Aurora Nightwing turns 5 and will go through the ritual!" While Elder was speaking, I looked around and took note of how the villagers smiled, excited to see what I would get. Elder spoke again, but I didn't pay attention as my gaze was drawn toward where the statue of Arturia, the only wind spirit dragon, resided. Her eyes seemed to glow in response and I was put in a trance. Elders voice snapped me out of the trance, "Aurora, please approach the Dragon Circle's center and sit on your knees." I nodded and made my way toward the center, unaware that the Elder caught me in a trance, staring at the statue of Arturia. Sitting on my knees in the Dragon Circle, the runes started to glow silver as Elder began to recite the ancient language. They began to glow brighter as the ritual went underway, _The runes glowing silver means the element light or wind, those are not common elements,_ I thought, looking at the color of the runes. My mother stood by Naomi, appearing nervous as I closed my eyes when the wind picked up. It was gentle, the wind, and opening my eyes, everyone had shocked looks on their faces, even Elder.

Looking up, my eyes widened. Before me stood the spirit dragon Arturia, guardian of the wind I couldn't do anything but stare, who wouldn't?! Arturia is the type of spirit dragon that only shows herself to people in the ritual who hold true potential to be big in life. And up until now, there has been no record of anyone having met her, at least not for several centuries so this is a big event in the history of Dragon Island! Arturia brought her head down to meet my gaze, " _Young one, I see something in you I haven't seen in a while. I see in you the will to survive, to persevere. You have an unseen potential within you, something special. That is why I have chosen to watch over you on your journey through life, giving your soul protection should it be in danger."_ With that, she faded into the wind.

The runes stopped glowing, the area being lit by the torches around the circle, as I thought of Arturia, _Her voice was gentle and soft, like a mother speaking to a child._ Elder was the first to somewhat snap out of his surprise, "W-well, isn't this a rare event? L-ladies and gentleman, Aurora's element is wind, and... and Arturia is her designated spirit dragon!" It was clear Elder was still shaken by what just occurred. My mom came over to me and pulled me to her, she was shaking and couldn't say anything, or more like she didn't know what to say. Elder approached us, "Aurora, we need to get your tattoo, where would you like it?" Turning to him, still in my mom's embrace, I responded, "On my lower back." he nodded and led my mom and I to the Chieftain's Chamber, the place you go to get your tattoo. That night would be the night that my life changed, maybe not right away, but it will in the future.

_ Time Skip _

The next day, I woke up to birds chirping outside. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sat up, yawing in the process. Looking out the window, I recalled yesterday's events and touched the wind symbol tattooed on my lower back, _Who would have thought..._ , I sighed and shaking my head, climbed out of bed and changed out of my pajamas. Once done, I was in the process of brushing my hair when I looked in the mirror at myself.

There stood a little girl, small for her age, with shoulder length silver-white hair with bangs on the right side of her face and slate blue eyes. She wore a slate grey tank top and tan Capri's. "Aurora, come get breakfast!" my mom called, pulling me away from my thoughts, "Coming!" I called back, heading toward the kitchen.  
The smell of food made my stomach growl as I entered the kitchen. Mom was putting food on two plates that are situated at the table, when she was done we both sat down and began to eat. It was quiet until halfway through, mom brought up how she was going to be out fishing with the other water elements and will be gone the whole day, not coming home till late. "So, while I'm gone, what are you going to do?" I hummed in thought at her question as I brought my now empty plate to the sink to be washed, "Well, Naomi's dad is having her help him around the smithy, so I think I'll head over to the tavern and see if Marie needs help."

"Alright, but don't cause too much trouble." she told me, I nodded in response, "Ok!". Mom straightened up and headed for the front door, me falling in step behind her. "I'll do the dishes after dinner, so why don't you head over now to see Marie?" I nodded again as we left the house, mom closing the door. "See you later, sweetie." I smiled, "Bye, mommy!" With that, she turned and walked toward the pier by the cliffs while I headed toward the tavern in the opposite direction.  
Opening the tavern door, I was greeted by the familiar smell of booze and food. "Hey, Aurora!" a voice called, I turned and saw a young man, around 20, with brown shaggy hair and vibrant purple eyes. He wore loose grey pants and a dark green, long sleeved shirt. "Hey, Mick!" I called back, smiling. Mick was Marie's son who worked as a miner for the afternoon shift. He was an earth element with the earth dragon Earthana.

"If your looking for Mom, she's in the kitchen." Mick gestured toward the door by the bar. "Ah, thanks Mick!" he nodded, "No problem." I ran past him and into the kitchen, calling out for Marie. "Oh, Aurora! Here to help out out cause trouble?" she asked, jokingly. Laughing sheepishly, I told her I was here to help out around the tavern, She sighed and put her hands on her hips, "Alright, you can go clean the bar, some drunkard spilled his booze on the counter." I laughed, "You mean Henry?" She let out a 'mmhmm', "Now go start cleaning!" she laughed. I giggled and went about cleaning the bar. That was one thing I liked about Marie, she was like a second mother to me. Marie had darker skin the most, but that's because when she wasn't working in the tavern, she always spent her time outside. She has beautiful blonde hair and bright purple eyes and often wore a faded purple apron over a cream blouse and blue jeans. But cleaning and helping out around the tavern has caused it to be a second home, what with my mom being even more busy as of late. It seems everyone is asking for her help so I don't see her as often as I would like.

For the next few months, I've noticed my mom looking in poor health. I voiced my worries and told her to see the doctor, but she persisted that she was fine. But a few days before my 6th birthday, my mom collapsed at work and was ordered to bed rest from the doctor. When I asked if mom was sick, he told me she caught an incurable illness and estimates she doesn't have much longer to live. When I heard that I was dismayed and spent as much time as I can with her, to make the most of the time she has left. I spent my birthday sitting at my mom's bedside, noting how weaker she looked with each passing day. The doctor came by to do his usually check up and notified me that her illness has progress faster then he thought and she doesn't have much longer left to live, about a week. I shuddered at the thought of losing my only blood relative, the only person I've really relied on, and to know how quickly that can be taken away scares me, and so I spent every second with my mom until she drew her final breath in early fall. Her last words stick in my mind, " _Live your life, from now to the day you die, with no regrets. Promise me that._ "

Her funeral was a dreary one, and after my mom's ashes were spread into the ocean, Marie took me back to the tavern to live with her. I took Mick's old room as he now lives with his wife, and there I spent a week, wallowing in grief. Soon though, I was back to working in the tavern, full time now, but I lost the light that burned within my soul. Marie was sadden by my sudden change in attitude, as it seemed any desire I had to chase my dreams left after my mom died. But one year later, 5 weeks after my 7th birthday, I encountered someone in the tavern who brought that lost light back to my soul.

It was around noon when a whole crew of pirates walked into bar, and a red haired man from that group with one arm sat at the bar. I couldn't help but stare blankly, pirates had all the freedom in the world, could chase their dreams freely, at least, that's what my mom had said. This crew in the tavern seemed very happy-go-lucky, like they'll take any opportunity to party. I shook my head and went to each table, giving each pirate a keg of booze, but unbeknownst to me, the red haired man was watching me out of the corner of his eye. He turned the Marie, "Excuse me...", "Marie.", "Marie, whose the kid over there?" he asked. Marie smiled sadly, "That's Aurora, full name Aurora Nightwing, she works here." The redhead looked surprised, "Works here?" Marie nodded, "Yeah, she always would help out here, but when her mother died last year and since her father died before she was born, I took her in and now she works full time to keep her mind off of things." The man looked in my direction, "Tough kid." Marie shook her head, "No, any light she had left burned out after her mother's passing, she hasn't even caused trouble and that worries me and everyone in the village."

The man looked interested now, "She's a troublemaker?" Marie nodded. I padded over to Marie with empty kegs, "We need refills." She grabbed the kegs as I turned to find the one armed man looking at me. "What happened to your arm?" I asked, he looked over at me, and some of his crew (a guy with a tattoo on his forehead that said 'Yasopp', a big guy eating meat, ad a guy with a rifle), and the redhead laughed. "Now that, young lady, is a long story." I shrugged, "I have time." he laughed again as I hopped up onto the bar stool next to him. "But first," he said and I looked at him, "what'll be your name?" I smiled slightly, "Aurora, Aurora Nightwing. And you?" the man grinned, "I'm Shanks. Captain of the Redhair Pirates." My eyes seemed to brighten, which didn't go unnoticed by Marie, "You're a Yonko!" Shanks laughed, "That I am! Now about the story of how I lost my left arm.." and for the rest of the day, I spent my time listening to Shanks stories and I was in awe of the many adventures he's been on. Marie looked on, smiling fondly in my direction, _Who would have thought that a Yonko would be able to bring the old Aurora back._

Shanks and his crew stayed on the island for about 2 weeks before leaving, and now I stood at the docks waving goodbye, the light that left me even brighter than before I lost it, shining bright than ever. A thought crossed my mind and I froze as I forgot to tell Shanks something and so I ran in the direction his ship sailed up to a cliff. Spotting the Red Force approaching from the left and turning out to sea, so before I missed my chance, I called out, "SHANKS!" the wind that blowing out to sea appearing out of nowhere carried my voice far enough to reach him. Shanks turned toward the cliff to see my form standing there, "SHANKS, I'LL GO OUT TO SEE ONE DAY, BECOME A YONKO AND WRITE THE BEST STORY EVER! IT'S A PROMISE!" Shanks could only laugh at that and knowing his voice won't be carried by the wind, raised his fist in the air. When I saw that, I did the same, grinning brightly, knowing he'll hold me to that promise and that he made a promise of his own to me, a silent promise. After I was out of sight, he turned back to his crew, and when the Red Force was out of sight, I headed back to the village, pep in my step, the grin never leaving my face.

 _A silent promise was made between Shanks and I through that raised fist.  
I'll become a Yonko with the best story and he'll wait for the day where we cross paths again looking forward to seeing how strong I've gotten._


End file.
